Meadon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The surname Meadon originally appeared in Gaelic as "Mac an Mhadaidh," which is probably derived from the word "madadh," which means "warrior, dog." 1

Another source claims the family claim descent through Owen Buac, brother of Owen Fionn, ancestor of O'Madadhain, of Connaught, slain, 1008; Anglicized O'Madden, Madden. The Madden family of Longford, County Galway, the O'Madden family of Balbriggan, County Dublin and the Madden family of Ulster are all branches of the original. 2

Alternatively, the name could have been from "descendant of little Matthew (gift of Jehovah.)" 3

Early Origins of the Meadon family

The surname Meadon was first found in County Galway (Irish: Gaillimh) part of the province of Connacht, located on the west coast of the Island, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

We did find this interesting entry for the Mudrigan variant in the parish of St. Martin, Cornwall, England: "Although this parish contains no manor, Mudgian is said formerly to have had manorial rights, when it belonged to a family of this name, and was their seat. From the Mudgians it passed with an heiress in marriage to the Chynoweths." 4

Early History of the Meadon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Meadon research. Another 126 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1347, 1556, 1567, 1677, 1713 and 1715 are included under the topic Early Meadon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Meadon Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: MacAvaddy, Madden, O'Madden, Madigan, Macavadan and others.

Early Notables of the Meadon family

Another 42 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Meadon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Meadon migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Meadon Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Meadon, who landed in New York in 1799 5

Meadon migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Meadon Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Meadon, (b. 1821), aged 22, English convict who was convicted in Somerset, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Cressy" on 28th April 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Meadon (post 1700) +

Ernest John Meadon Esq., Australian politician, Under-Secretary and Accountant-General, Ministry of Power, Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1960
Sir Percival Edward Meadon CBE MA, English Director of Education, Lancashire, eponym of Meadon Hall, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, Lancashire

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 21st May 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cressy